The report of an “active shooter” at Burge Residence Hall on Oct. 15 has been deemed to be false, according to a University of Iowa statement from Jeneane Beck, the assistant vice president for External Relations.

At around 5:08 p.m., the UI police received a call from a UI student who reported a friend had sent him a text message claiming there was an “active shooter in Burge Residence Hall and to call the police.”

The UI police quickly dispatched officers to Burge. Residents were already evacuating the building when officers arrived at 5:10 p.m. Police secured a perimeter around the building.

At 5:16 p.m., the student called the UI police again to inform them that his friend had informed the student that he had been joking.

Upon discovering there was no threat to student safety, UI police began an investigation into the situation. Both students were brought in for questioning, and although no arrests were made, the investigation is ongoing.

Students were allowed to re-enter Burge around 5:45 p.m.

No HawkAlert was sent because authorities responded within minutes and determined that the single text message was not credible.

All information was released in a statement by Beck Saturday evening. More information will be provided when it is available, she said.

University Counseling Services were available in Burge Sunday evening according to an email issued to students by UI Residence Education. The email also included other on-campus counseling resources for students.

Nearly 25 years ago, on Nov. 1, 1991, an active shooter did roam the UI campus. Former physics graduate student Gang Lu killed three physics professors in Van Allen Hall, Christoph Goertz, Robert Smith, and Dwight Nicholson, and research investigator Linhua Shan. Lu then went to Jessup Hall and killed Associate Vice President T. Anne Cleary and severely wounded UI student temp worker Miya Rudolfo-Sioson, who was paralyzed for the rest of her life.

— Travis Coltrain